Wanna Cut CO2, Dump Oil Habit? Switch Company Fleets to Hybrids, CNG
By John O'Dell October 8, 2009Study Says Fleet Conversions Quickest Way for U.S. to Make Dent in Carbon Footprint
By Danny King, Contributor
Corporations could be significant players in improving air quality and reducing carbon emissions by converting their fleets of gasoline and diesel vehicles to hybrids and compressed natural gas-powered cars and trucks, according to a study by the nonprofit Center for Automotive Research.
If just one-fourth of all major corporations were to convert their vehicle fleets, a new CAR study found, the resulting reduction of CO2 emissions would be the equivalent of removing 600,000 vehicles from the streets.
AT&T is converting 8,000 trucks and vans, such as this, to compressed natural gas.
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The move would cut U.S. gasoline use by 750 million gallons a year and be the fastest way the nation could achieve significantly improved fuel efficiency, the Ann Arbor, Mich., think-tank said in its report.
Replacing 25 percent of all corporate vehicles with hybrid or CNG vehicles also would support 10,000 vehicle-assembly jobs, the report said.
CAR used AT&T's vehicle fleet for its case study, extrapolating the findings to other corporate fleets.
"If the country is serious about increasing the number of fuel-efficient vehicles on the road in the near future, the fleets of America, with their rapid turnover of vehicles, represent the best opportunity in the shortest time frame," said Kim Hill, director of CAR's sustainable transportation and communities group.
CAR estimated the impact of AT&T's planned conversion of its 15,000-vehicle fleet to hybrids and CNG cars and trucks over a 10-year period.
Assuming each vehicle is driven an average of 11,000 miles a year, such a conversion would cut gasoline use over the decade by 49 million gallons, eliminate the equivalent of a year's worth of emissions from 38,000 vehicles, and support creation or retention of about 1,000 "green" jobs a year for four years. It would result in adding about $10 million a year to the federal tax base, the report said.
AT&T's fleet conversion, which involves the purchase of about 8,000 CNG vans and 7,000 new Toyota Prius and Ford Escape hybrids, is part of the communications company''s $556 million effort to reduce its carbon footprint over the next decade.
About one in five new vehicles purchased each year are for fleets, according to CAR. Ford plans on making commercial battery-powered vehicles for fleet customers next year.
As part of the Obama Administration's economic-recovery efforts, the U.S. government earlier this year earmarked $300 million to be spent over the next two years buying vehicles such as hybrid, electric and plug-in hybrid cars for federal-government use.
"The prospect of large purchases of cleaner vehicles by U.S. fleet operators would provide an enormous incentive for the industry to commit production capacity towards the production of advanced technology vehicles," the CAR report said, adding that "such a shift also might stimulate sales of cleaner vehicles to consumers by helping to reduce prices for energy-efficient cars and trucks."
Editor's note: We're all for it - especially that last bit. Anything that will help make our next car an affordable EV is okay with us!
Now we just have to persuade all those corporations that they can actually save money in the long run by dumping their gas- and diesel-burners in favor of cars and trucks that run on clean electrons or low-carbon fuels such as natural gas - something that ought to be helped by all those studies showing the lower maintenance and fuel costs of electric vehicles, hybrids and CNG vehicles.
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